Festival Traveling – Plan your Year!

The new year is here, and if your resolution is to travel more and have more fun this year, it’s time to plan what events you want to visit in 2018! Everybody knows about Mardi Gras, Venice carnival and the carnival in Rio. Let’s explore some of the less-known events all over the world!

February 16 – Chinese New Year + China’s Harbin Snow & Ice Festival

The year of the dog is technically not yet here, and you can make it a lucky one! Start by celebrating its arrival where the Chinese Zodiac came from – in China itself! There are a lot of rules about how to welcome and please the dog, and you can find all of them here. The New Year festivities continue for 15 days beginning on February 16th and include fireworks and street processions.

Are the New Year festivities not enough to satisfy your awe lust? Then head to Snow and Ice festival in Harbin, which is continuing until February 25th. There you can visit several theme parks to enjoy beautiful ice sculptures, Ice Lanterns, winter sports and evening shows.

March 2 – Sky Lantern Festival – Taiwan

The Lantern Festival is celebrated in China too, but in Taiwan, it reaches a truly magnificent scale. A giant zodiac animal lantern more than 15 kilometers high is built, not counting billions of smaller lamps. There are a parade, arts and crafts competitions and of course fireworks! If you’re very brave, you can even participate in a rocket-firecracker show, where fire is thrown at you directly. Don’t forget to wear protective clothes and goggles!

March 2 – Holi – India

Another fun way to celebrate the arrival of spring and the victory of good vs. evil is to buy a pack of colored powder and through it at people in the streets. Sounds weird? It’s not! Color-throwing is a major part of Holi celebration all over India, so be sure to pack some boring clothes with you. They’ll become much more colorful by the end of your visit! Holi traditions vary in different regions of India, so here’s a list of the best places to go during Holi. Besides, Coldplay has a nice music clip featuring Holi!

March 17 – St.Patrick’s day – Anywhere with an Irish Pub

The beauty of this festival is that you don’t even need to travel anywhere to experience it – just wear something green, head to the closest Irish pub, and get drunk on Guinness in the company of both the locals and the Irish immigrants! However, if you want a genuine St.Patrick experience, you simply must visit Dublin for the parades, the music, and the craziness. And don’t dare come back without a green hat!

April 9 – 14 – Snowbombing – Mayrhofen, Austria

It’s April, but you’re not ready to set aside your skis or snowboard just yet? In Mayrhofen they close the skiing season in style: the largest open-air party on snow features world-class musicians, chairlift speed dating, alpine yoga, fancy dresses, cool shows in the snow park and of course a lot of cocktails! Attending Snowbombing is the most fun you can have at a skiing resort all year!

Photo courtesy: Snowbombing

May 26 – June – White Nights Festival – St.Petersburg, Russia

The White Nights period is a busy time in St.Petersburg – no time to sleep if you visit in the end of May or in June. Some of the events that happen at this time are: the International music festival “White Nights of St.Petersburg”, Scarlet Sails show on the Neva river with fireworks (canceled in 2018), “Stars of the White Nights” at the Mariinsky theater, and of course some of the FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15 games! Finally, it’s obligatory to stay up late and enjoy the bridges go up in the grey light of the night.

June 18-21 Stonehenge Summer Solstice Festival

This four-day long festival celebrates the summer solstice at a spot where it has been celebrated for millennia! You’ll have a unique opportunity to walk among the stones themselves, not just see them from the tourist pathway. There’s also live music, local foods, and crafts fair. You’ll have to camp in the specially designated areas, and you can spend evenings at community campfires, in a friendly atmosphere.

June 28 – August 18 – Epidaurus Festival – Athens, Greece

No news that most of the art forms we have now have emerged in Ancient Greece. The Greece of today still upholds the cultural mark of quality and holds one of the best theater, dance and music festivals in the world – Epidaurus. Performances are held all summer on the weekends, and the venues include theaters that were built before our era!

July 19 – 22 – Comic-Con International – San Diego, USA

The most iconic geeky event of all is ready to welcome all fans and cosplayers in San Diego in July. If you are excited to see the newest trailer previews and meet your favorite stars at panel discussions – Comic-Con is a must. Unfortunately, the badge sale for 2018 has already stopped, but you can subscribe to their mail list to not miss the sale for 2019!

August 26 – Sep 3 – Burning Man – Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA

We have already written about why you need to go to Burning Man and what you can expect there. Let’s just add that if you don’t want t go to the original Burning Man in Nevada, its spin-offs are organized all over the world. For example, South African one is in April this year, and they expect to be bigger than ever before!

November 2 – Dia de Los Muertos – Mexico

Are you afraid of skulls and skeletons everywhere? Don’t worry, some skulls are made of sugar, and there are a lot of flowers and beautiful costumes everywhere! We’re talking of the Day of the Dead in Mexico, of course. The holiday itself is a family affair, on this day Mexicans remember their dead and appreciate the living, gathering at the cemeteries. However, it’s not all sober, for example, there’s a huge costume parade in Mexico City on the weekend before the Day of the Dead. Other cool places to watch the celebrations include Oaxaca, Merida, and Morelos. Here are some basic rules on how to respectfully enjoy Dia de Los Muertos.

November 7 – Diwali – India

The name of the festival means “a row of lights”, and it’s celebrated throughout India. People lit a lot of clay lights in their homes and temples, and of course, fireworks and firecrackers are omnipresent! On Goa, they also burn a huge effigy of a demon to celebrate the destruction of evil. Here’s more about how exactly Diwali is celebrated in different regions.

December 30 – January 1 – Hogmanay – Edinburgh, Scotland

New Year celebration is awesome in a lot of places, but how about enjoying the fireworks over the battlements of the famous Edinburgh Castle? There’s also a Viking-inspired torchlight procession on December 30th, non-stop parties in the streets on December 31st and the traditional splash in the river to clear your head on January 1st. Is there a better way to celebrate New Year? Find more info and crazy photos here.